Our View: County races provide intrigue

Sunday

Politics in Beaver County, especially during election season, is rarely devoid of drama and intrigue. The races this year for the county row offices promise to provide plenty of both.

For years we watched such spectacle play out among Democrats when they held virtually every office in county government. County Republicans, however, wrested control of the board of commissioners four years ago, along with the offices of district attorney and sheriff. It didn’t take long for the Republicans to prove the party could be just as dysfunctional as its counterpart.

Republican Commissioner Sandie Egley held the chairmanship for two years until Democrat Tony Amadio and Republican Daniel Camp teamed up to remove Egley and put Camp at the helm. Since then, Egley has somewhat assumed the role of “minority commissioner,” often being the dissenting vote on various issues.

And Egley has had more than a few clashes with fellow Republicans Sheriff Tony Guy and District Attorney David Lozier, mostly over budget issues. She decided last year that she would not seek another term as commissioner, but opted instead to seek the Republican nomination for country treasurer.

That sets up a Republican primary showdown between Egley and Cebran Boyd “C.B.” Netherland, the first deputy under Democrat Connie Javens, the retiring treasurer. Javens and Egley have had their share of run-ins over the last few years, so it came as no great surprise that Javens is backing Netherland in his bid for the office.

In the commissioners race, Amadio is teaming up with former Commissioner Dennis Nichols, who held the office as a Republican, was beaten by Egley and Camp in the primary, and has since switched parties to run as a Democrat. There’s plenty of intrigue there when you look at what transpired over the last four years.

Former state Rep. Jim Christiana, now the head of the county Republican Party, backed Egley and Camp in the primary against Nichols. Once defeated, Nichols registered as a Democrat in an unsuccessful effort to win the primary and take on Christiana. To say there is no love lost between Nichols and Christiana would be a vast understatement.

And things may be a bit strained between Christiana and Egley as well, dating back to her first few months in office when Christiana claimed Egley’s office assistant was attempting to shake down Republican business leaders for campaign contributions. Egley eventually fired the assistant.

And just to make things even more interesting, former Sheriff George David, who lost the primary race four years ago to fellow Democrat Wayne Kress, is back to take him on once again. David was no stranger to controversy during his multiple terms in office, culminating with him being charged in 2012 with threatening a local website operator and intimidating a deputy who witnessed the incident. He was acquitted on all charges after a trial in 2014 and now claims that the controversies surrounding him over the years were nothing more than “lies and politics.”

So, if you’re keeping score, we have a current commissioner who, rather than seek re-election, is hoping to become treasurer; a former commissioner who switched parties and now hopes to put the Democrats back in control of the board; and a former controversial sheriff who is hoping to resurrect his political career.

All told, it’s going to be a very interesting campaign season.

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